Battle of the Upper Baetis

Significance

The Battle of the Upper Baetis, fought in 211 BC, comprised two engagements — the battles of Castulo and Ilorca — and ended in a decisive Carthaginian victory. Both Roman commanders, Publius Cornelius Scipio and his brother Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio, were killed in the fighting, eliminating the Roman command in Hispania at a stroke. The loss was severe: Roman Republic casualties numbered between 21,000 and 22,000. The defeat terminated seven years of Roman campaigning in Hispania by the Scipio brothers, a campaign that had functioned as a strategic drain on Carthaginian resources and had limited the reinforcements and supplies available to Hannibal during his ongoing operations in Italy. The removal of both commanders and the destruction of their forces left Rome's position in Hispania critically exposed within the wider Second Punic War.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (6)